


Casting Metal

by Windona



Series: The DC World of Marvel [1]
Category: Blue Beetle (Comics), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, fusion au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-12-03 04:35:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11524665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Windona/pseuds/Windona
Summary: In another universe, Ted Kord is the billionaire in charge of Kord Industries, inherited from his father. He blithely accepted the common wisdom of making weapons to protect US troops being a good thing, and invented more than one instrument of destruction.That all changed one day in the desert.





	Casting Metal

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU where it's the Marvel Universe, but with DC characters. I had the idea for doing both a while back, and decided to try for the non-obvious but oddly fitting crosses first. 
> 
> I think Ted Kord as Iron Man does that well.
> 
> Also, for those wondering who Tracey is; in the comics Ditko wrote with Ted Kord, Tracey was Ted's love interest. She was also smart, compassionate, and helped Ted out a lot. Thus, I felt she deserved some focus here.

Tracey, the ever beleaguered Personal Assistant, was enjoying a rare full night of rest. For once, all the scheduling had worked out despite her boss’ absentmindedness. He was now over in Afghanistan, showcasing his latest project, and would return in a week with an amazing business deal and far more work. For now, she had time to relax and sleep deeply.

So when her phone obnoxiously blared, Tracey scowled. There was absolutely no good reason for her to be called in the middle of the night. She knew Ted had a clock for the time differences, and there was nobody else who had any right to call her.

She answered it without checking who it was. “What?” she growled.

“Tracey, it’s about Ted. There was an attack, and he’s missing," Sergent Smith said.

Tracey’s mouth dried. “I- no. You have to find him.”

“We’ll do our best.” It was not comforting, but at the very least it offered no false hope.

*

There was a ringing in his ears, a dryness in his throat, a coldness in his chest, and a subconscious desire to not open his eyes and face reality. Yet face reality Ted did.

His eyes fluttered open to a dirty cave, with figures draped in cloth clutching guns like idols surrounding him. The only uncovered face was much nearer, hovering over him with concern sketched in every wrinkle and fold. It may have been wishful thinking, but Ted thought the man was vaguely familiar.

One of the men shouted, sharply and aggressively. The concerned man faintly nodded along, then translated.

“Listen, you were attacked and a piece of shrapnel is lodged in your heart. The battery is the only thing keeping you alive,” the man said, pointing out the battery and cord leading to his chest. So that was the source of the coldness.

“I’m guessing these men aren’t rehabilitating me out of the goodness of their hearts,” Ted said.

The man faintly snorted. “No. They want you to build a weapon for them.”

Ted valiantly steeled himself. “Tell them no.”

The man sighed before translating. What happened next was a blur of pain.

Waterboarding, a video, burns- it wasn’t long before he gasped out, “Alright, I’ll do it.”

Once he was delivered back into the cell with the other man, Ted had a chance to view his companion in decent light. “Professor Garret?”

Professor Garret huffed. “Now you recognize me, all tortured and bloody.”

Ted groaned. “In my defense, I had just woken up from heart surgery.”

The older man just snorted. “That’s the first excuse you’ve ever given that I’ll accept.” His face fell, and he looked to the side as if seeing a terrible future. “But Ted, they’re not going to just dock points if your work is late for them.”

Ted pushed himself up onto his elbows, and looked Professor Garret directly in the eye. “I am going to work, and build a weapon. But not one they’re expecting.”

Grasping Dan’s outstretched hand, Ted pulled himself up with slight exertion and a grunt. “But first, I’m going to need to make something other than this clunker to keep my heart beating.”

Dan grinned, and they got to work.

Professor Dan Garret might have been an archeologist by trade, but in his life time he had learned a thing or two about technology. Some of it had been as a friend and confidant of Ted’s when the younger man had been in college. Other times it was the result of old or faulty equipment needing to be fixed up for an experiment. This knowledge made him an excellent help when it came to wires and smelting for the creation of Ted’s new arc reactor.

The constant checks and gnawing hunger at too few meals reminded both of them of their situation. Yet brief moments during their work felt snatched from another time, when Ted had been a young and unsure college student in a sea of older students.

During the work, Ted idly commented, “You know, I understand why they want me. But what do they want with an archeologist? And how did you do heart surgery anyway?”

Dan laughed briskly. “I had my time in the army and as an EMT, kiddo. Learned to be a field medic, good enough to put a magnet in your chest. Not exactly a world class surgeon, though.” Sighing, he brushed his forehead to wipe off some sweat. “As for here- well, I was doing some research on an ancient temple. Had ancient Chinese writing on the walls. Not exactly common in Afghanistan. And even though I’m more of an Egypt man, they wanted my expertise regarding places with traps and strange artifacts.” He picked up a tool, and handed it over to Ted. “Then I got caught during an attack, and apparently terrorists want someone to tell them how valuable an artifact is so they can sell it for big bucks.”

“Fuck, Dan,” Ted said, connecting the last wires together. “But I think we might have a way to get out of here.”

The object in Ted’s palm glowed a gentle blue, a slight hum gracing the men’s ears.

Dan stared at it, smiling. “No genius, but it looks like it could power your heart for a lifetime.”

Grinning, Ted palmed it. “Or something big for a few minutes. Now it’s time for the suit.”

Scattered blueprints were hidden around, and made to look like the missile the terrorists wanted. Yet with Dan’s relative equipment savvy and Ted’s genius, it quickly began to shape up into a clunky suit. During the work, Dan looked over at Ted and asked, “So what do you want to do after this?”

Ted shrugged as if he was trying to dislodge a particularly annoying mosquito. “Go back to my old life, I guess?”

“After everything you’ve seen? With your name on weapons that blew up innocent villages?”

Ted put down a tool to run his left hand through his hair. “I have no idea Dan. I always thought I was providing protection to American troops, using my brilliance for good old Uncle Sam. Now I see that the very weapons I created to protect them are killing those same troops.”

Dan sighed, putting his left hand on Ted’s shoulder. “I know I was in charge of ancient history, and I did a disservice to you by not telling you more. But Ted, Uncle Sam is the reason this region is so unstable right now. Selling weapons to anyone won’t help anything. What people need is schools, medicine, infrastructure.”

Ted pulled his goggles back over his eyes, and focused on his work. It was only because of their shared past that Dan knew Ted was thinking, in part by working on the suit.

As it shaped up more and more, Ted began to taste freedom in the stale air.

Finally, the day of reckoning was near. They were uploading the system information when loud voices and furious pounding assaulted their door.

Dan glanced towards the door, and at the loading bar. “You need more time,” he intoned.

Ted picked up on what his old mentor was planning a second too late, immobile in the inactive suit. “Dan, no.”

“I’ll buy it for you.” Not giving Ted time to react, Dan pick up a gun. The explosives at the door went off, and the initial wave of attackers were gone. Dan used the newly cleared path to run ahead, shooting his gun into the air.

Finally, it finished processing the system data and the suit came online. It was rough as hell, but Ted thudded through the tunnels, blindly shooting anyone who came towards him.

A moment and forever later, Ted saw a familiar form lying on the ground with a splash of red brown blood on his side.

“No no nonono- oh Dan, come on Dan, you need to make it for your family-“ Ted leaned down as best he could.

“I’ll be with my wife soon, Ted.” Dan breathed out slowly, as his blood sluggishly flowed out. “Just  be    a good…”

Shaking his body was useless. A rational part of Ted’s mind knew this. Said rational part managed to get Ted to move away eventually, but it was not in full control.

With a cry turned into a roar, Ted shot through the terrorist camp. Face with the weapon stockpiles, Ted set them all on fire. He used cover fire to allow any other hostages to flee, before launching himself into the sky and flying as far away as possible.

The armor had been a brilliant piece of technology, but it had been made in a cave with a box of scraps. Pieces of armor peeled away and fell to the ground, useless as can be. He cursed as he hit the ground with impact, and use his ratty jacket it try and provide some shade.

Out in the desert alone, he felt like an idiot. He got Dan killed. His weapons destroyed so many lives. And to top it off, he had wasted water in the form of tears. It was pretty stupid of a supposed genius, in his opinion.

But he struggled on, walking through the desert for some hope of help. He could not waste Dan’s sacrifice. He had to make sure Kord Industries no longer made weapons that destroyed villages.

The sun burned those thoughts into his head, making Ted more and more certain of what he needed to do. He prayed to the sky that he could live long enough to be worthy of Dan’s sacrifice.

As if in answer, a helicopter’s distinct whirr sounded in Ted’s ears. He recognized the make and model of the helicopter, along with the words printed on the side. He waved his arms and shouted, only to be embraced by a soldier and pulled up to safety.

“I’m glad to see you alive,” Sergent Smith said, before Ted passed out from exhaustion.

*

Tracey had gotten a call that morning, waking her up with the greatest news possible.

Her fingers twitched with nerves and she tried to hold back tears as she saw Ted walk out of the airplane. He was clearly scruffy and ragged, his hair flopping all over the place. He was far thinner than he used to be. But she looked at him, and saw him smile with simple relief.

“It’s good to have you back,” she said as she handed him a tablet with the schedule she had labored over. He would need therapy after all the trauma he had been through, and doctors to help him get back to a good state of health. He also needed to read up on the current state of affairs so he could go back to running Kord Industries. But Tracey would be there for him every step of the way.

Ted glanced the schedule over. He nodded, then turned to his driver. “Thank you, Tracey, but I need to call a press conference right away.”

And with the announcement of Kord Industries shutting down its weapons program, Tracey knew that everything was going to change.


End file.
